


Family Ties

by lizzygrace12



Category: Star Wars, Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Cinnamon Roll Rey (Star Wars), Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, Family, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Weddings, pregnancy mentioned but not main plot point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:47:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28188693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizzygrace12/pseuds/lizzygrace12
Summary: Han and Leia haven't seen their son in over eleven years. Then, they run into him at a wedding and meet his wife.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 26
Kudos: 195





	1. Chapter 1

Here's a story I started a little over a year ago. Med school has kept me very busy, but I wanted to put out some of this work and update Pieces while I had the time over break. 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Another weekend, another wedding for someone he’s never met. Having a wife who is likeable, sociable, and well connected means you end up attending lots of charity events, weddings, and funerals of people you’ve never heard about. Well, Han will claims he’s never heard of them and Leia will remind him that he sat next to them for four hours at an auction last weekend. He has a hard time keeping track of his wife’s friends, because in his opinion she had too many. For some reason, Amilyn is the only one he could remember consistently. It had been the same way with his son. Ben once brought his friend Poe over and from then on, as far as Han was concerned, any friend Ben brought over was likely Poe Dameron. 

“Leia, could you please remind me who is getting married?,” Han asks, trailing behind her as she leads them into a ballroom of the Four Seasons. Whose ever wedding it is, they spared no expense. Nice venue was a good sign. Usually means nice food and nice booze. 

“For the last time, it’s Linda Tico’s daughter Rose,” she says. “I’ve never actually met Rose, but I’ve been in bridge club with Linda for five years now. You just need to sit through the ceremony, get free food and drinks, and then we will go. No whining. I don’t want to hear it.” 

“Yeah, sweetheart. I know the drill. This ain’t my first rodeo,” he says cracking a smile. He watches as Leia waves to someone across the room before taking a seat just off the center aisle. 

It’s still a good twenty minutes until the ceremony begins and several staff members and members of the bridal party are still milling about. There’s a few men standing off to the side presumably part of the wedding party, and the one facing out catches Han’s attention. 

“Hey, Leia,” he says, elbowing her softly. “Is that Poe Dameron?” 

She sighs. “Han, you’ve never been good with names. I don’t think you’d know Poe Dameron if he punched you in the face.” 

“Seriously, look.” She looks toward where he’s pointing and cocks her head.

“You know....it could be. I haven’t seen that boy in probably fifteen years.” She picks up the wedding program and starts flipping through it. “Well, I’ll be damned. Han, you were right,” she says, pointing to a section of the program. 

Sure enough, his name was there. However, that wasn’t the only name that caught his attention.

Groomsmen:  
Poe Dameron  
Nicholas Gander  
Anthony Miller  
Benjamin Solo  
Max Tico

“Leia, look.” She scans the remainder of the list, eyes widening when getting to the name of interest. Her face pales and she hastily begins looking around the room, hoping to get a glimpse of her son for the first time in almost eleven years. It doesn’t take long. A very tall man enters through one of the side doors and both Han and Leia immediately recognize him as their son. 

“He looks so grown up,” Leia whispers. Han had to agree. Ben had been a gangly teen, but very much grew into his looks during college. However, the confidence never followed along. But the man who just walked into that room exuded confidence. 

They watch as he approaches Poe Dameron who, to their shock, turns around and points towards them. Ben claps Poe on the shoulder and begins to make his way towards them. He cuts through the row in front of them and sits himself in the seat directly in front of them. 

“Hi.” Han’s mind goes numb. Hi. The first thing his son has said to them in nearly eleven years. 

“Ben?,” Leia whispers. She grabs for his hand and surprisingly he lets her take it. 

“Uh, yeah. It’s me. Here I am,” he says, quietly. “I noticed your name on the guest list this morning. I didn’t know earlier than that. I would...I would have found a way to let you know. I didn’t want the ceremony to start without saying something to you.” 

“How have you been? Where have you been?,” Leia asks. 

“I’m good. I live on the upper east side,” he says quickly. “Are you good? You both look good.” 

“Yeah kid, we’re good,” Han says. He’s never had a way with words and knows that his son doesn’t either. With the way things ended, he’s surprised Ben’s talking to them at all. A good surprise though. A really good surprise. 

“You’re good and you live on the upper east side. After eleven years, that’s all we get?,” Leia whispers, her voice pained. 

“Leia,” Han says quietly. 

Ben bites the inside of his cheek, pausing to give himself time to formulate a response. “Let’s get dinner sometime, okay? I understand this is hard for you. This is hard for me. This isn’t an ideal environment for this conversation, so let’s not do it today.” He takes a deep breath before continuing. “So, I’m gonna rip off another band-aid here. The groom, Finn, is my brother-in-law. I’m married to his sister. This is a big day for my family and I don’t want any drama that will distract from this day. We aren’t going to get into my marriage or my personal business today, but we can soon. I promise you we can soon. But, please just give us space today. Rey will probably come up and introduce herself to you. She’s a good person. The best person I know.” 

Leia sucks in a huge breath. “You’re married. You got married and didn’t bother to let your parents know,” Leia said. Her face is stoic as always, but her tone is deadly. “But we aren’t talking about that today apparently. Are you free Wednesday at 7 for dinner?” 

“Yes. Yes I can do that.” 

Her facade breaks and a tear springs to her eye. “Okay.” 

“Okay,” Ben says, nodding. “You have anything more to say, dad?”

Han had a lot he could say or ask. So he defaults to something lighthearted. “Your girl. She pretty?” 

“No, she’s beautiful,” Ben responds. With that, he gets up and heads back towards the front of the room. 

Han turns toward his wife. “Sweetheart, I know you’re mad, but I think it’s a good thing that he’s talking to us. I think it’s good he’s willing to meet with us.” 

“I’m not mad Han. I am devastated,” she bites back. He understands....really he does. Her son may be back in her life, but she’s missed a major milestone. One she would have cherished. Han however, feels relieved. Ben took time to warm up to others and often had trouble making friends. So, Ben having a wife means that Ben hasn’t spent the last eleven years of his life alone and, to Han, that is a great source of comfort. 

_____________________________________________________________________-

The processional starts as most do. The families enter. Several small children serve as the flower girls. There is one of them that has a full head of thick, curly black hair. Han has a sinking suspicion that a wife wasn’t the only thing Ben had been keeping from them. Luckily, Leia seems to be too distracted to notice.

When the first bridesmaid enters, Leia quickly identifies her as the bride’s older sister Paige. The second woman is young with a peppy walk, bright smile, and smattering of freckles. “You think that’s her?” Leia whispers in his ear. 

“I do,” he says, jerking his head towards the front of the room. There, his son stands with the biggest smile on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

If you’d ask Han or Leia about anything that happened during the ceremony they wouldn’t be able to answer you. Both are too focused on their son and the woman who plays an integral role in their son’s life. “She has kind eyes,” Leia whispers about ten minutes in. 

“What?” 

“Ben’s wife. Her eyes are kind. And she is beautiful,” she muses. “Do you think he told her about us or do you think she thinks we are dead?” 

“Leia, I highly doubt he told her we died,” he grumbles. The people around them are starting to side eye them due to the inappropriate timing of their conversation. 

“How do you know? We don’t know anything about him any more.” 

“Even though we haven’t been on speaking terms, the kid still sends you an orchid every year on your birthday. That’s not the kind of person who tells his wife his parents are dead.” Someone in the row behind them shushes them and the conversation ends.   
____________________________________________

Once they’ve made their exit, Ben leads Rey off to the side and into an empty conference room. 

“You know we don’t have enough time for this before the reception and I really don’t want to mess up my hair. Can we raincheck?” 

“I did not bring you here for sex, but I’m glad you think I’m still that fun,” he says quickly. “We have kind of a problem.” 

“How big of a problem?,” she asks, concerned. 

“My parents are here. Not just in the hotel here. Invited to the wedding here.” 

Her eyes widen. “Oh shit.” 

“Yeah, Rey. Big ‘oh shit.’ I talked to them before the ceremony and asked them to give us space today.” 

“You talked to them. Okay,” she says slowly. “Well for starters, are you okay?” She moves closer in order to put a hand on his arm. 

“Yes. I’m surprisingly okay. I told them I was married and we are getting dinner with them Wednesday at 7 PM or maybe it’s just me that’s going, that is unclear,” he says nodding.   
“Okay, and you mentioned the girls?” 

“Fuck. I did not.” 

“Ben, I love you so deeply...more than my own life, but you’re an idiot,” she sighs, given his shoulders a shake. 

“I was nervous. I forgot to mention it. I didn’t want to get stabbed with a broach in the middle of the Four Seasons,” he says panicked. “What do we do?” 

“We hold our heads up high, have a good time tonight, and on Wednesday you begin healing your relationship with your parents.” 

“I texted Dr. Karilo and she said she’d be able to get me in for a therapy session on Monday. Will you go with me?” 

“Absolutely. Even though you forgot to mention our two daughters to your estranged parents and this experience may traumatize us all, I love you and I’m proud of you,” she says, pecking him on the check. “Now, we have a party to get to and I have a speech to give. 

__________________________________________________________________________

Han and Leia were the first to arrive at their table. Han quickly switches the name plates around to give them the best view of the head table. Their son and daughter-in-law walk in hand in hand, occasionally whispering in each other’s ear. At once point, the woman stops and turns to look at their table. Her face scrunches up in embarrassment when she sees they are staring right back. 

The toasts and introductions proceed as is typical. The bride’s father gives a moving speech. 

“Do you think that her parents were invited to the wedding? Do you think that they get together for holidays? Do we think she is Jewish?” 

“Leia, you are going to drive yourself crazy. Maybe we should just go?,” he suggests lightly. 

“Like hell I’m going, I said I’d give him space, but we are staying at this wedding until the last possible moment,” she says bitterly. Leia is nothing if not stubborn. The both redirect their attention to the ongoing speeches. 

“Now, before we start dinner, we have one final speech. I’m going to hand the mic over to the sister of the groom and best friend of the bride, Rey Kanata-Solo.” She gets up gracefully and accepts the mic. 

“I promised Finn and Rose that I’d get through this without crying and that I’d try to keep it short, but I’m not sure what’s going to happen,” she says cheekily. “Finn came into my life when I was eight years old when fate put us at the same group home. Within ten minutes of meeting each other, we discovered, not only were we the same age, we shared the same birthday, March 11th. Finn, very seriously, took my hand and said ‘Rey, do you know what this means?’ I didn’t. And he said, ‘it means we are twins.’ That was the day I gained a brother. And today, I’m going to tell you what makes him the greatest brother and will make him the greatest husband. 

First, Finn is incredibly loyal. He somehow convinced our caseworker that it would be unethical to separate us...you know...because we are twins.” The whole room chuckles. “So, from then on we were placed as a pair. Finn was literally any parent’s dream and my rebellious teenage phase started when I was five...it was a tough combination. We got moved around several times and it was 100% my fault. I promise you all this isn’t a sad orphan story. We are well adjusted...now.” A couple years ago, I actually got in touch with our old caseworker while I was visiting London and she told me something I never knew. On two occasions, the families that felt I was not a good fit had offered to let Finn stay, but he didn’t want me to go on alone.” She pauses her speech to look towards where the bride and groom are sitting. Both siblings can be heard sniffling. “She said Finn looked her in the eyes and said “you leave me here and I swear to God I will run away.” Rose, my brother adores you and I am confident that whether you are having a good day or a bad day, he will never let you go through it alone. 

Secondly, Finn is thoughtful and thorough. He makes these pro-con lists before making any major decision ever. When we were ten, we formed our forever family with a wonderful woman named Maz Kanata. At the end of our first week with her, Finn gave me his pro/con list to review. It included Pros like ‘seems like she would like dogs, doesn’t mind when we cuss, has good taste in movies” and it only had one con: ‘smells like mothballs.’ It was convincing enough for me and that year we officially became siblings. He has a pro/con list for every college and grad school he considered. He made me a pro con list with his thoughts about the man who is now my husband. A year and a half ago, he told me he planned to propose to Rose and wanted me to review his list. I saved it and will read parts of it for you:

The pros, in no particular order: Rose is selfless. She is compassionate. She delivers babies for a living and that is awesome. When something good happens, the first thing I want to do is tell Rose. When something bad happens, the first thing I want to do is tell Rose. Rose likes ice cream just as much as I do. My life is infinitely better because Rose is in it. 

There are three pages of pros here,” Rey says tapping the paper. “Single spaced, size 11 font. There was not a single con on this list. Not one. That’s unheard of. I think that speaks a lot of the type of person Rose is and how perfect she and Finn are together. 

Finn is a wonderful person, wonderful brother, wonderful uncle, and will without a doubt be a wonderful husband and eventually a wonderful father. I am fortunate to be gaining a sister-in-law who just so happens to also be my best friend. You’ve felt a part of this family for a long time now and I am so glad that now it’s official. Love and happiness to you both.”


	3. Chapter 3

Once the speech is over, the room is suddenly bustling with activity. Waiters seem to appear out of nowhere to serve the first of several courses. 

“Han, did she say that the groom is a great uncle, meaning that she has children….probably meaning she has children with our son,” Leia whispers frantically, trying her best not to make a scene at the table. 

“It could mean a lot of things Leia. Maybe they have other siblings? Maybe she has children from another relationship?,” Han suggests, taking a very large sip of his rum and coke. He decides against mentioning the little girl with the ink black curls. After all, he didn’t get a good look at her face, it could be one of the bride’s nieces. 

“Even if they are children from a previous relationship, she’s married to our son which makes him their step father, which makes us their grandparents,” she replies sharply. “Excuse me, I need to go to the restroom.” Han notices her wipe a tear off her cheek. He knows she will go to the bathroom, cry a few more and return as collected as ever. 

____________________________________________________________________________

When Leia enters the large bathroom, there’s already someone in there. Her son’s wife, Rey. She is too occupied to notice her. She’s got a small child sitting on the bathroom counter, a child that does not resemble either her son or daughter-in-law, The child has a small cut above her right eyebrow. 

‘Hey Lilly, I’m gonna have you hold this on your boo-boo for a minute while I get something out of my bag, okay?” 

She zips open a large diaper bag and starts looking through it. In the meantime, two more little girls burst into the bathroom. Judging by their matching purple dresses, they had all been flower girls. One of the girls, maybe five or six, is the spitting image of her son and Leia feels like her heart could burst. This is her grandchild. She knows it.   
Both girls run straight past her. 

“Mommy, should I call 911?” 

“Absolutely not. Thank you for asking though.” 

“We just want to help,” the other girl, a little red head, chirps. “I already cleaned the blood up off the floor with my napkin.” 

“Kenzie, you can help me by holding Lilly’s hand,” Rey says. The girl does 

“Rey, am I going to die?,” the injured child asks in a watery voice. Rey stops rummaging in her bag for a second. 

“Oh honey, of course not. I’m just gonna clean this up a bit and send you back to playing. You are going to be just fine. It’s just a cut. No biggie,” she says softly. 

“Auntie Rose usually fixes by boo boos. She’s a doctor.” 

“I know, but Auntie Rose has a day off from being a doctor today. We wouldn’t want to get any blood on that pretty white dress. I’m a doctor too, so you are in excellent hands. I fix boo boos all the time,’ she says reassuringly. 

“Is this the worst boo boo you’ve ever seen?,” Lilly asks, occasionally hiccuping through her tears. 

“Far from it, sweetheart. I see grown ups with really big boo boos. This is a tiny boo boo and will heal up just fine. I promise.” 

“Mommy puts people’s guts back inside when they fall out,” the little girl with the black hair chimes in. 

“Well, that’s one way to put it, but Lilly your guts are safe and sound inside. I’m gonna clean your cut with this wipe and it’s gonna sting just a little bit, but it will go away quick. Are you gonna be a brave girl for me?” 

“Yes. I am a brave girl.” 

“Okay...real quick now,” Rey saws and she wipes the wound clean. The child visibly stiffens and lets out a soft whimper. “Now I have special doctor glue I’m gonna use to close this cut up.” Her hands work quickly and soon enough the wound is barely noticeable. “Okay brave girl, you’re all done.” She helps her hop off the counter. “Don’t touch it and no more falls okay. Now go finish your dinner and have fun.” 

“Thanks Rey!” Lilly hugs Rey around the waist. She and the redhead leave, leaving only Rey and her granddaughter left. 

“Mommy, can you come cut my chicken up?,” the little girl asks, tugging on her mother’s dress.

“Of course, love. Go bring your plate up by daddy and me and we will help you. I’ll be out in a minute.” The little girl takes off out of the bathroom. Leia wishes she could get a closer look at her face. 

A small gasp causes Leia to turn around. Rey has finally noticed her presence. 

“You’re Ben’s mother,” she says. 

“Yes. I promised him I’d leave you alone, so I just go,” Leia says. It’s out of character for her to back away from a confrontation, but she’d promised him she would. She wasn’t going to jeopardize her son’s presence in her life. 

“No, please don’t go,” she pleads, moving forward as if to physically stop her. “I’m Rey.” 

Ben had said that she would likely seek them out. Leia gave her the opt out and she declined. “Leia” She holds her hand out.. 

“It is so nice to finally meet you,” Rey says, grasping Leia’s hand in both of hers. 

“I wish I had known you existed before today.” 

“I know,” she says quietly. 

“And the little girl...the one who just left…” Leia wanted to verbal confirmation that her son had fathered a child and failed to tell her about it. 

“She’s mine…Ben’s and mine obviously. She looks ju-...”

“Just like him.” 

“She really does. Both our girls do. Annie...Her name is Annie. She’ll be turning six at the end of December. Christmas actually... We have a baby too. Maggie is 16 months old.” 

“Just the two?” 

“Yeah, for now. Um...hold on.” She goes back into the diaper bag and pulls out a black leather wallet. She opens in and pulls out two small photos. “Here’s Annie’s school photo from this year and I took this photo of Maggie on her first birthday.” 

Leia takes them eagerly. Rey is right. Both children are a spitting image of her son. Fair skin, curly black hair, dark expressive eyes. The baby has freckles though and Annie has a button nose. Neither inherited the Solo ears. 

“I know Ben talked to you earlier. I also know that he was nervous and didn’t mention our children. I’m sorry that you had to find out this way. I’m sorry you had to find out about all of it this way,” Rey says. Leia can tell she’s sincere.

“Me too.” Both women stand in silence, unsure of what to say. For the first time in her life, Leia feels insecure. She has no idea what her son has told this woman about her. Surely she’s heard about all the fights and how they sent him away, but does she know that she rocked Ben to sleep almost every night until he was five. Or, that she always cut the crust off his sandwiches and snuck sweet notes in his lunch box every morning before she left for work. 

Her daughter-in-law decides to break the silence. “So. Ben mentioned dinner on Wednesday. I would love to be there, but if you want it to be just you three I respect that. I would like to have lunch. Just the two of us. I’m off work through Thursday, so whatever works for you.” 

“Tuesday at noon,” Leia says, getting out her phone to put in her calendar. 

“Good. Tuesday at noon.” When Leia looks up from her phone, Rey is handing her a slip of paper. “Here is my number, Ben’s number, and our address. I’ll see you Tuesday.” 

____________________________________________________________________________

Han is polishing off his drink when Leia returns. She has a blank facial expression which is often the scariest of them all. She takes a seat and slaps two photos in front of him. 

“Your granddaughters,” she says flatly. 

“How the hell did you get these,” Han asks incredulously. 

“I ran into our daughter-in-law in the bathroom. Got some phone numbers, an address, and an invite to lunch.” The devil works hard, but Leia Organa works harder.


End file.
